Chapter 44 – [Hero] The Two of Them
“How… Magic?”
This was the first of many questions.
I was a bit hesitant to ask anything else.
“Ah, as expected, you know right away.”
He looked at his staff as if he was having fun, then turned his gaze back to me.
It’s a bad look.
All this time, when he looked at me, he shrank like a herbivore in front of a predator.
But now, on the contrary, he is looking at me as if he were a predator.
“It may be hard to believe, but the magic opened my eyes.”
What?
I thought I might have heard wrong.
However, he explained it once more as if he knew it.
“It is a magic word. Suddenly I felt like I could write. When I asked Lady Seria, I heard that there are cases where magic manifests innately.”
That is… What do you mean?
Isn’t being a wizard a wizard from birth?
He had a talent for magic from the beginning, but did he realize it at this moment without even knowing it?
After I hesitated for a moment, he asked Seria’s consent.
“… Right, miss?”
“Huh… Yes… A case where a wizard is born with an eye that sees magical powers innately and… Divided into two cases that are conspicuous after birth… The latter… Almost none.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I am very lucky too.”
The corners of his mouth seemed to be caught in his ears.
If I had a body that could use magic overnight, anyone would be so happy.
But if I feel that his joy is elsewhere, is it my imagination?
Rather, Seria.
Why are you so attached to him?
“Seria.”
Before I could think of a plausible excuse, my hand went out first.
“Eh, Eric?”
I pulled her into her mine.
“Oops. It seems you have misunderstood. We met by chance and pursued our doppelganger, so it ended up like this.”
“…”
“Eric…”
I glared at him without speaking.
Lie.
I can’t trust him anymore.
Seria was unexpectedly taken into my arms, and as if surprised, she was looking up at me with her bright red face.
“Sorry… Sun.”
She said and buried her face in my arms.
Then, with Arin and Uni arriving, I decided to deal with a more pressing problem than the man, the doppelganger.
After all, he had killed his doppelgänger, so he thought he wouldn’t be able to hear the details, but the man assured me not to worry, he’d already heard the story.
However, the spirit of Yuni continued to pursue her doppelganger, so did she have time to have a leisurely conversation with her doppelganger?
In response to my question, the man confessed his story of stealing all the doppelganger’s information by lying as if he was on the side of the demons.
The doppelganger to prove the authenticity is already dead.
It’s embarrassing, but we had no choice but to accept it.
This story was soon passed on to the lord.
I added and conveyed my personal opinion that the credibility of this whole story was low, but as a result of his massive destruction of the slums by releasing the lord’s army, many testimonies that matched his words were collected.
In the end, it was me who was wrong again, and it was me who turned away from the truth out of useless jealousy.
Moreover, this incident made the man fall in the eyes of the lord.
Yeongju seems to have asked him if he would like to stay here, but he said he flatly refused to stay in our party.
If it turns out like this… Can’t get him out
Did you mean it?
If so, where the heck do you come from?
Whether he wants to protect this world or he will use his strength for a greater cause, everything he says is an excuse. It’s a lie.
No, isn’t the time to slowly accept the truth?
I heard that voice from deep in my heart.
Truth…
Is it really all my misunderstanding?
Come to think of it, it was always heartbreaking.
Whether he is having a bad heart or what he actually did, there are suspicions, but no evidence.
On the contrary, he made the biggest contribution to solving the case without any obligation to help us in this case, and refused all the rewards given by the lord. He said he wanted to help the hero subdue the demon lord.
Then… Could he be just a nice guy?
Am I being narrow-minded and misunderstanding something?
I keep thinking like this these days.
Didn’t Arin also say that the two of them were dating or that she wasn’t like that?
The fact that Seria was hiding something might be a separate problem that had nothing to do with her.
Isn’t that why he seems so suspicious these days because I’m suspicious of him?
I glanced at Seria.
She twists her hair as she gazes out of her window.
Looking at it like this, nothing has changed from usual.
The scent of roses, red hair and clothes. A valuable staff member inherited from Master.
Everything is the same.
Maybe, that she was dirty is just my imagination…
“Sorry, I’m late!”
Yuni came down from her room with a sigh.
“Are you okay. Because she didn’t wait long.”
As Arin said, it didn’t take long to wait.
She had no intention of saying anything since it was me who asked her to rest and come down before deciding on her next destination.
Anyway, this is where everyone came together.
Me, Seria, Arin, Uni… Until Jeren.
Originally, he had no right to speak, but since his contributions this time were quite great, it was a bit awkward to throw him out openly.
No, let’s not harbor unreasonable animosity.
Because it could all be my misunderstanding. If that’s really the case, I’d rather apologize to him.
Well, if not, he doesn’t know anything anyway. I won’t talk much
“Now, let’s decide our next destination.”
“You still don’t know where the other Four Heavenly Kings are, right?”
When Uni asked, Arin nodded her head.
“Yes. As of now, there is no information. If this happens, I’m a little worried about moving to another place…”
The farther away from the place where the Four Heavenly Kings are, the slower the eradication.
In the end, it only increases the suffering of innocent people.
“How about going in the direction of Mawangseong? After all, our ultimate goal is the Demon Lord.”
Before that, catching the Four Heavenly Kings is the priority, but if there is nowhere to go anyway, go to the vicinity of the Demon Castle.
It was also the direction we were originally headed, and if the Four Heavenly Kings were not active outside of their territory, surely they would be near the Demon Castle?
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Then, if there is no other opinion, let’s head to the Demon Castle and end the meeting…
“Wait.”
The man cut him off.
The word dissolution rose up in my throat and then went down again.
Okay… Let’s listen.
“How about the capital?”
Capital?
The largest city in the kingdom.
But to get there, you have to turn around a bit.
“Then, won’t you get away from the Demon King?”
Uni giggling.
He meekly nodded.
“You’re right. But isn’t it a situation where there is no information anyway? In that case, I think it would be best to go to the capital, where information from all over the country comes in.”
“Um… It makes sense. In addition, there might be data on the former warriors in the palace archives.”
Arin pondered his words and responded positively.
Records of former warriors are also very helpful to us.
The equipment they used is now in our hands, so knowing how they used it would be very helpful.
In the case of Arin right now, isn’t it a situation where we don’t even know exactly what the blessings bestowed on the priest’s uniform are?
The same goes for my sword, Seria’s staff, and Uni’s necklace.
If there was an effect we didn’t know about, we should have known about it.
Hearing this makes a lot of sense.
But… I also don’t like it that much.
Is this because of his opinion?
You cannot be called a hero only when you are swayed by such personal feelings.
I intervened in the conversation, trying hard to stop myself from becoming uncomfortable.
“How long does it take to the capital?”
“10 days. If the lord is going to another city, he said he would lend me a carriage.”
Seria, who had been quietly listening, threw out a word.
His gaze is still fixed outside the window.
10 days.
In addition, if you are a monk, you can rent a carriage.
Needless to say, that would make the trip more comfortable.
As expected, Arin and Yuni’s faces noticeably brighten when the carriage talk comes up.
There is no comparison between walking all day and traveling comfortably in a carriage.
Looking at their faces, it seems that the answer has already been decided.
“Then let’s leave tomorrow.”
I said that and broke the meeting.
In the end, we decided to go to the capital.
Sudora, I have visited only once since I was appointed as a warrior.
It was then that I realized for the first time how great a city the capital of a kingdom is.
In fact, it’s also a bit nerve-wracking.
I was so distracted at the time that I couldn’t even look at it properly.
I still have a slight reluctance, but I’ll have to put up with it.
I got up before them.
“See you all tomorrow.”
“I’ll go first too.”
I was thinking of going to my room first, but Seria jumped up as well.
“Huh. We’ll go up a little later.”
Seria gave an appropriate answer to Uni who waved her hand, and she clung to me next to me.
“Three, Seria?”
“… Let’s go up.”
Her scent tickled my nose, and her warmth warmed my arms.
I was a little taken aback by the sudden contact, but it was such a pleasant touch that blood rushed to my face without my knowledge.
As I climbed her steps, I waited patiently for her to say something, but she said nothing.
But the moment she climbed the last flight of stairs and reached the second floor, she walked away from me.
“Eric.”
Exactly two steps away from me, she looked at me and asked.
Now she was as calm as the sea at dawn.
Where did all the flames burning inside her go?
“Can you hug me?”
